Colorado Avalanche: 3 storylines from Game 2 victory

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Jun 18, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche players celebrate a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period of game two of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

The Colorado Avalanche are now 2-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Colorado Avalanche won convincingly over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It was a dominating victory, as Colorado shutout Tampa Bay 7-0.

The Lightning kept goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy on the ice for the entire 60 minutes despite a rough night.

Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper

faced 17 shots throughout the night and was perfect on every save attempt. Colorado led the first period in shots on goal with 11 shots to Tampa Bay’s five.

Here are some of the key storylines from Saturday’s playoff victory.

Special Teams unit was outstanding.

The Avalanche finished the game with multiple goals from the special teams. Cale Makar had both a power play goal and a short handed goal in the game.

The Avalanche were just finding the right shots to take against the Lightning. They were not forcing many shots at all.

Through two periods, the Avalanche led the game in scoring chances with 14 compared to Tampa Bay’s two.

Despite being up 5-0 in the second period, Cale Makar drove down the ice while the Avalanche were outnumbered due to a penalty, and scored a short-handed goal.

No mercy.

This team’s focus is there. They are not going to let up with the Stanley Cup trophy just a couple of games away.

Jun 18, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Darren Helm (43) is congratulated following his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in game two of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Colorado Avalanche depth shows up against Tampa Bay in Game 2.

When it comes to the Colorado Avalanche, who is the player you would expect to have a big performance every game?

Nathan Mackinnon.

The Avalanche were all over it both in terms of offense and defense. They out-shot the Lightning

Despite having four shots on goal, Mackinnon finished the night with zero goals and an assist.

Overall, the goal scorers for the Avalanche were Cale Makar (2), Valeri Nichushkin (2), Andre Burakovsky (1), Darren Helm (1), and Josh Manson (1).

The Avalanche completely outmatched the Lightning on Saturday night.

3 stars:

3. Cale Makar
2. Darcy Kuemper
1. Valeri Nichushkin

At the end of the game, it appeared that Colorado was trying to get Makar and Nichushkin hat tricks, but unfortunately were unsuccessful. It would have been quite the sight to see in a tremendous game.

The Avalanche were without Nazim Kadri again as he recovers from an injury, but it didn’t matter. This team just is so strong and doesn’t necessarily need its big stars to shine.

Jun 18, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) is recognized as a star of the game following the 7-0 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in game two of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Darcy Kuemper was great for Colorado Avalanche again.

Throughout the game, it felt like the Colorado Avalanche were in control. They sure were in control of the puck for what seemed to be the majority of the game.

This was great news for Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper. The Lightning could hardly get any shots until the third period it seemed, finishing the game with 16 shots on goal. Kuemper obviously was able to come away with all 16 saves, his first shutout of the 2021-2022 playoffs.

At the end of the day, the other five skaters on the ice just did a phenomenal job of keeping the puck away from the Lightning. They were incredible on the offensive attack and had Kuemper been faced with more shots, the pressure would have been off of him, for the most part.

Kuemper is currently scheduled to hit free agency on July 13th. The Avalanche need to show Kuemper the money because of his incredible play. The Avalanche have two solid goaltenders with Kuemper and Pavel Francouz. It would be disappointing to see Kuemper leave for a new team that could show him more money than the Avalanche are willing to offer him.

Jun 15, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) pokes the puck away from Colorado Avalanche left wing J.T. Compher (37) during the second period of game one of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final at Ball Arena. Lightning. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

The Colorado Avalanche can’t take next few games lightly.

There are still at least two more games left in the playoffs and if history tells us anything, it’s that this series could absolutely go into Game 7. The Lightning have the best goaltender in all of the NHL, and every goalie is bound to have a bad game or two in a row.

In the semi-finals, the Rangers had a 2-game lead over the Lightning and Tampa Bay ended up pulling off a 4-game win streak to end the series.

Vasilevskiy is not someone the Avalanche can take lightly in the next several matchups. It will be a battle and don’t be surprised if it goes longer than four games.

Hopefully, the Avalanche will continue to get healthy as Nazim Kadri was out for this game due to a thumb injury.

The Avalanche have also been missing Samuel Girard, who broke his sternum in May and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

It is going to be a challenge but the Avalanche have shown that they can face adversity. Soon, we will find out if they can do what it takes to hold off the Lightning and hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2000-2001.

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